I think the likelihood of a major malfunction is fairly low but I'm not familiar with that product so its a "measured risk" your taking. In one of my past jobs I would meet with UL on occasion, typically after workplace accidents. It was not unusual for a product to meet a UL standard (Make sure the product standard its certified to is actually relevant by the way) in testing then become "lax" later in manufacturing and some production runs not meet the spec but still get sent out anyway, more common then people (or I at the time) want(ed) to believe. Some products will also readily meet the specs for the UL listing but the manufacturer doesn't want to pay UL on its "per unit" cost to put the logo on the box/product so it doesn't have it. For what its worth, You'll not find a circuit breaker in a mines that is 1,000V rated (Despite the circuit being 1000VLL) that has a UL listing (save for a few when Eaton made a run and then later stopped). This is despite the fact that federal law requires it MSHA can't enforce a standard that no one is building to so its not enforced. Just FYI.
Cheap LED Lights from Amazon..are they UL approved?
- Thread starter Bailey28
- Start date
I can't really speak for federal buildings, that would be a GSA question. I know at least in the mining world MSHA comes 4 times a year in Underground mines and two times a year on the surface mines. They also have their own approval system for intrinsically safe and "permissible" equipment that is approved and marked/tagged by them.
I am always concerned that what they send to pass those UL test is not actually what they spend on quality control for. Often times I see things popping and smoking because they have quality control issues instead of not designed safe.
To me the only way I know for sure is to search online to see who has gotten fires from them in bad reviews.
To me the only way I know for sure is to search online to see who has gotten fires from them in bad reviews.
The chances that Chinese gizmos that retail for $0.75 each, from a seller in the fee-ripe FBA program, have legitimate safety marks -- Magic 8 ball says "don't count on it."
These lights are being sold for Aliexpress prices, on Amazon, and it's hard to see how those numbers work even for sellers on the former.
Even if they do carry safety mark labels, from UL or another NRTL, one should question whether they're legitimate, or relevant. The FCC mark is a popular one, but it's not a safety mark, per se, and only relevant to equipment related to the radio spectrum. But it's not unusual to see it applied to products that aren't, to make them appear trustworthy.
Then there are at least two reviews from buyers who have had them short out when plugging them in.
In short, there are many reasons to be wary. Even products that are vetted and approved can fail. They just do so more gracefully.
These lights are being sold for Aliexpress prices, on Amazon, and it's hard to see how those numbers work even for sellers on the former.
Even if they do carry safety mark labels, from UL or another NRTL, one should question whether they're legitimate, or relevant. The FCC mark is a popular one, but it's not a safety mark, per se, and only relevant to equipment related to the radio spectrum. But it's not unusual to see it applied to products that aren't, to make them appear trustworthy.
Then there are at least two reviews from buyers who have had them short out when plugging them in.
In short, there are many reasons to be wary. Even products that are vetted and approved can fail. They just do so more gracefully.
Similar threads
